Method and apparatus for handling failures of resource managers in a clustered environment

The present invention provides a system and method for committing a transaction. Briefly described, one embodiment is a method comprises assigning a resource manager a globally unique identifier (GUID), the resource manager assigned to complete the transaction; detecting a failure such that the resource manager cannot complete the transaction; and assigning a backup resource manager the GUID when the failure is detected such that the transaction is completed by the backup resource manager.